November 30, 2013

Texas A&M agrees to six-year deal with Sumlin #TAMU

Texas A&M officials announced an agreement in principle with football coach Kevin Sumlin on a new six-year contract Saturday, effectively taking Sumlin out of the mix for the Southern California coaching vacancy.

Terms of the contract were not announced and the deal requires final approval by A&M regents. But the new contract, announced before the start of Saturday’s game at Missouri, involved input from regents Elaine Mendoza and Cliff Thomas to reach this point, said A&M athletic director Eric Hyman. Sumlin had been mentioned as a leading candidate for the vacancy at USC, which fired coach Lane Kiffin in September.

Hyman said Sumlin’s new package shows the school “is making a sincere commitment” to keeping their second-year coach in College Station for the long term.

“We are fortunate that he is committed to remain an Aggie for a long time to come and we are excited about what the future has in store,” Hyman said in a statement released by school officials. “Coach Sumlin has demonstrated why he is considered among the nation’s elite football coaches. His coaching and recruiting abilities are only secondary to his integrity, class and passion for his student-athletes and this university.”

In a statement, Sumlin said: “I am humbled and very appreciative of the commitment that Texas A&M has extended not only to me and my family, but to our football program overall. We have only just begun to lay the foundation for sustained, long-term success.”

Heading into the Missouri game, Sumlin had compiled a 19-5 record in two seasons at A&M and a 54-22 mark in six seasons as a head football coach at A&M and Houston.